Domestic pets, such as cats, are trained to use litter boxes. These litter boxes are often used by pet owners, home owners, veterinarians, etc.
However, conventional litter products used in litter boxes containing conventional clay litter products emit objectionable odors because of the presence of animal dross. In order to reduce or eliminate these objectional odors from conventional clay-based litter products, the pet owner must frequently remove the animal dross from the litter box. However, even frequent removal of the animal dross is not always sufficient to eliminate the source of the odor. When the odor becomes objectionable, it is often necessary to completely remove and replace the litter material contained within the litter box. The litter box is then cleaned and new litter material is placed within the litter box. This removal process is often unpleasant, time consuming and can be expensive if done frequently. Accordingly, new litter products are needed which are inexpensive to produce and economical to use.
The most commonly used litter box products are inexpensive, clay-based products that are safe and non-irritating to the animal and yet, at the same time, can absorb substantial quantities of liquid. Other porous, solid products are also sometimes used as a component of litter products, including straw, sawdust, wood chips, wood shavings, porous polymeric materials, paper, sand, corn husks, and other such organic and inorganic materials. However, use of these products alone often does not eliminate the odor problems associated with conventional litter products.
As a result of this problem, odor suppressing litter products have been produced, such as are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,607,594, 4,641,605 and 3,983,842. U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,594 discloses an animal litter product comprising (1) absorbent particles which may be natural or processed cellulosic materials, synthetic fibers or clay minerals including bentonite, montmorillonite, kaolin, or attapulgite, with attapulgite preferred, (2) inert absorbent granules such as porous polymeric granules, manmade glass or volcanic rock, wherein the absorbent granules are treated with a neutralizing agent selected from the group consisting of a carbonate, bicarbonate, hydrogen phosphate and other neutralizing agents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,605 discloses a litter product comprising a granular litter material sprayed with a sodium or ammonium persulfate and then dusted with a solid buffering agent, wherein the buffering agent is selected from the group consisting of sodium bicarbonate, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, sodium carbonate, potassium dihydrogen phosphate, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride and sodium borate. The particular buffering agent is chosen to maintain the pH of the litter product between 6.7 and 7.3. Thus, if a litter product is naturally basic, an acidic buffering agent is utilized to bring the overall pH down to between 6.7 and 7.3.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,983,842 discloses a litter product comprising crushed peanut hulls to which is added a basic odor suppressor such as sodium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate, trisodium phosphate and sodium carbonate. Both of these patents prefer sodium bicarbonate as the odor suppressor. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,341,180, 5,176,107, 5,216,980, 5,303,676, 5,361,719 and 5,526,770.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,881 discloses a litter product formed from compacted fines of a non-swelling clay, such as calcium bentonite clay.
In addition to deodorizing the litter products, newer litter products have the ability to clump for easy removal of the animal dross from the litter box. For example, clumping animal litter compositions are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,115, reissued as Re. 33,983. The product disclosed is comprised substantially of a water swellable, sodium bentonite clay product with a particle size within a limited range. The patent requires that particle fines be added to the mixture in a sufficient quantity so that the animal dross agglomerates.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,684 discloses a method of agglomerating smectite clay products using litter products, wherein the smectite clay is subject to a shearing process. The smectite clay described in this patent is preferably at least about 50 percent sodium smectite.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,259 discloses a clumping animal litter composition comprising particulate attapulgite clay having a moisture content in the range of 10 to 23 percent, free moisture and a particular size distribution of from about 8 to about 40 mesh, preferably 10 to 30 mesh, wherein the animal litter product forms clumps having sufficient strength for separation from unwetted litter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,463 discloses a litter box composition containing an extruded smectite clay, wherein the composition of the litter box product is 100 percent sodium smectite.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,208 discloses a litter box composition comprising dried clay and limestone.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,365 discloses a litter box composition containing non-compacted particles of a water swellable bentonite clay product and a water absorbent polymer which is added to the clay product to assist in the absorption of animal dross liquids.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,111 discloses a litter product comprising at least about 65 percent sodium bentonite, wherein the particles of sodium bentonite are required to be within a specific particle size range. See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,990.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,803 discloses a litter product containing about 11 to 50 percent sodium bentonite and about 50 to 89 percent calcium bentonite.
Most of these litter products are produced from compositions containing predominantly sodium bentonite because it is a high swelling clay product. In contrast, it has been generally assumed that hormite would not be useful as litter products because hormite is not naturally swellable and does not conventionally clump well.
Litter products produced using fuller's earth or attapulgite clays are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,279,405, 3,735,734, 4,437,429 5,188,064, 5,371,054 and 5,421,291. However, these products also do not clump well.
Preparation of litter products which contain large quantities of hormite are highly desirable because hormite is inexpensive to mine and prepare for use.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to disclose an absorbent litter product containing high concentrations of hormite.
It is a still further object of this invention to disclose an absorbent litter product containing high concentrations of hormite that clumps well.
It is a still further object of this invention to disclose an absorbent litter product containing hormite and a basic reacting alkali metal compound which is highly absorbent.
It is a still further object of this invention to disclose an absorbent litter product containing hormite, sodium smectite and a basic reacting alkali metal compound which is both highly absorbent and agglomerates well.
It is a still further object of this invention to disclose an absorbent litter product containing hormite, a basic reacting alkali metal compound, preferably sodium carbonate, and sodium smectite, wherein the sodium smectite component constitutes less than about thirty (30) percent of the litter product.
It is a still further object of this invention to disclose an absorbent litter product containing high concentrations of hormite which also contains a basic reacting alkali metal compound, preferably sodium carbonate, and preferably sodium smectite, wherein the basic reacting alkali metal compound constitutes at least about 0.1 percent of the composition.
It is a still further object of this invention to disclose a process for the production of an absorbent, clumping litter product containing hormite, a basic reacting alkali metal compound and sodium smectite.
It is a still further object of this invention to disclose a process for the production of an absorbent litter product containing hormite and a basic reacting alkali metal compound.
It is a still further object of this invention to disclose a process for the production of an absorbent litter product containing hormite, a basic reacting alkali metal compound, preferably sodium carbonate, and preferably sodium smectite, wherein the basic reacting alkali metal compound constitutes more than about 0.1 percent of the litter product.
It is a still further object of the invention to disclose a process for the production of an absorbent litter product containing hormite, sodium smectite and a basic reacting alkali metal compound, wherein the components are mixed, kneaded and then extruded through a conventional extruder.
These and other objects of the invention will be disclosed by the detailed description of the invention.